Package



J. E. SNYDER March 20, 1951 PACKAGE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 4, 1948 fizyz M 6 INVENTOR. fi/ s 5 Smwm March 20, 195l J. E. SNYDER 2,545,7W

PACKAGE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 4, 1948 a INVENTOR. I f mzs A. 524 05? M BY 9/ 7 fimh/m J. E. SNYDER March 20, 1951 PACKAGE 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 4, 1948 FZ /f 70 NANDREL INVENTOR. 'Jfi/vfa 5 Fm 05 Patented Mar. 20, 1951 PACKAGE James E. Snyder, kr

f ot Gornorati'on, Akron,

Delaware hi e sisn r to Wing- Ohio, a corporation of Application-Septembe 4, 1.948,; Ser lNo- 4284.4

claims.v (01. 312-31) This invention relates to an improvement in packages and methods of making. them. The preferred package of this invention has a twoply Wrapper and air-conditioningmeans-located between the plies. Each ply of the. wrapping material is of a composition. substantially im-. pervious to a component of the atmosphere affected by the air-conditioner. Thus if thaairconditioner is a humidifying or desiccatinga ent the wrapping material is substantially impervious to the passage of moisture vapor. I

The market affordsagreat variety of wrapping materials which have peculiar-properties, making them desirable for the packaging of difierent materials. Some of these wrapping materials are highly resistant to the Passage. of moisture vapor and are therefore. adapted for packaging materialswhich are to bekept-dry and materials which are to be kept moist. Qther packaging materials are resistant to the passage, of carbon dioxide and are used for packaging. salts,. etc., which are readily affected by this gas, Other materials are relatively resistant to. the passage of oxygen andare used for packaging materials affected by oxygen. Certain of the packaging materials are suitable for prot cting. a material against a variety of deteriorating influences. All such may be used in making the difl ren paok= ages to which this invention rela es.

Although the packaging materials aflordsub= stantial protectiontoa variety of such different influences, they merely approach perfection. According to this invention, the protection afforded by a wrapping material: is augmented by using a double wrap: and including an air-conditioner between the plies. The: air-conditioner retards loss of a gaseous ingredient from. the package or the entrance of a gaseous deteriorating agent into the package. For instance, if it. is desired to maintain high humidity .Withinthe package two plies of amoisture-tight wrapping material are used and Water or some Watersupplying material is placed between them. O the other hand, the package may be protected against-entrance of agaseous materiahsuch as moisture, oxygen, etc. For example. if. the'contents of a package are to be kept in ananhydrous condition, a dehydrating agentisplaoed between the plies.

The invention will be further explained in connection with the accompanying drawings in i which- Fig. 3. is a sideview ofan alternative bag structure;

Fla 4. is a view in perspectiveof.aboxwitha ou l -p y Wrapper;

Fig.5 is asection onthe line 5-5 of Fig. l;

Figs. 6 and 7 are a bottom and side view o f= .the sealer d or sealing the end of the-pa ka shown in Fig.

Fig. 8 is a side elevationlofv on end. of bag! makin and fillin equipmen Fi 9 is an elevati n on an nl ed scale of the other e d. f. he ameequih ent (omittin thea and severi gmeans Fig. l0. is a view taken at rightangles tothe vi w shown in Fi howing he s alin and severingmeansin operative. position;

F g. 11 isa view showin m nua m a s or incor orat ng W ter. etc. betwe th plies f a has;

Fig. 12 is aplan view ofv another. package illuse t atins the invent on;

Fig. 13 is anenlargedsection on the line l3...-l3 of Fig. 12;

Fi 141 is a side elevation. of oneend of a bag mak n ma hi adapted for carry out t invention; i

Fig. 15- is a plan view of h o her e d of the ma hine on enl e d-soal Fig. 16 isanend view of the'cuttihg and severe ing means of Fig- 15;

Fig. 17 is a side view of a finished open bag made by theequipment. shown in Figs. 14 16; and

Fig, 18 is a section on the line- I8 .l8o f Fig. 17 showing the open mouth of the-bag with the two plies constituting thewallsealed at the top.

The bag of Figs. 1 and 2 is of duplex construction', i. e., the-walls are composed of twoplies of material and they are not laminated together, This clearly illustrated inFig. 2 in which the front wall is shown as. being formed of the two plies I and 2' and the backwall as beingformed of: the two plies 3 and 4. All four plies are united in a seal 5 at one edge and. a seal. 6 at the'other ed e. A pr i rredfilm for i t ep p ek aging isrubber hydrochloride film, and when this film is used the seals are, preferably made by heat and pressure. Both plies need notbe made of the same composition; The wrapping materials that may be employed include films of regenerated cellulose, cellulosic films, copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinylidine chlorideother vinyl compounds, polyethylene, etc. There is a seal 1 acrossthe bottom and after filling the bag it is closed by the seal .8 cr ss the t p.- The spa between the walls is exaggerated in Fig. 2 to illustrate the presence of the air-conditioning medium. This is located in the two spaces 9 between the Walls. This space will ordinarily be no wider than the thickness of the film, and may be narrower.

If the contents of the package are to be maintained at a high humidity, water is placed between the walls of the bag. If the walls are not easily wet by water, it may be advantageous to add a wetting agent. Thus, the composition 9 between the walls of the bag shown in Figs. 1 and 2 may be one hundred per cent water or it may be 99.9 per cent water and 0.1 per cent of an aerosol or other wetting agent. To reduce the rate at which the water evaporates from between the two plies, glycerine or the like may be added. Thus, the two walls of the bag may be separated by a composition which is formed of five per cent glycerine, 94.9 per cent water, and 0.1 per cent of a wetting agent. The composition 9 will ordinarily be spread as a thin film between the wa ls. If the walls of the bag are transparent the film will advantageously be distributed uniformly between them so as not to affect the transparency of the bag.

If, instead of desiring to keep the contents of the package moist, it is desired to keep the contents dry, a desiccating agent, e. g., anhydrous glycerine, etc, will be placed between the plies constituting the individual walls. Although a dry granular material might be used, a liquid is preferred for transparent packages. If it is desired to protect the contents from oxygen. an oxygen-absorbing material such as tung oil or other drying oil may be used between the plies. If it is desired to protect the contents of the bag from carbon dioxide, some absorbent or carbon-dioxide reactant will be placed between the walls such as a dilute solution of sodium hydroxide or saturated lime water or even a solution of pure water. Thus, the air-conditioner between the plies of the walls of the bag will be varied depending upon the protection desired.

Obviously. if one desires a package to maintain high humidity the film employed will be moisture-tight. It must also be water-tight if the humidifying agent placed between the walls is a liquid. Thus, for example, if water, or water with a wetting agent, or water containing a wetting agent and glycerine is employed, rubber hydrochloride material will form a desirable packaging material. The films 2 and 3, which are adjacent the contents of the package may be of thinner gauge or may be of such a composition that they transmit moisture vapor more readily than the outer films l and l. The outer films I and 4 would then tend to prevent loss of moisture from the package, whereas the films 2 and 3 would permit equilibrium conditions to be built up and maintained between the air-conditioner and the contents of the package.

If the package is to be kept dry and a desiccating agent such as glycerine is used between the walls of the package, rubber hydrochloride film will again be desirable for use as the packaging material. If the package is to be kept free from carbon dioxide, a cellulosic film may be the preferred packaging material. For excluding oxygen, regenerated cellulose film may be pre ferred. Thus, the composition of the wrapping material may be varied. The two plies forming the duplex wall may be of the same or diiferent composition.

Fig. 3 shows a bag of somewhat different construction which may be used for the same purpose. Here, the two walls I5 and I6 are folded at each edge of the bag and separately sealed at H and I8 respectively. The tube formed in this way is sealed across the bottom at I9 and after filling is closed at the top by the seal 20.

Figs. 4 and 5 show a box-like structure of cardboard or the like '25 wrapped with plies 26 and 21 of wrapping material which overlap on all sides of the package. The space 28 between them is filled with air-conditioner which is preferably in liquid form and applied as a thin film. The package is formed by wrapping the box in the wrapper in any manner and sealing in any manner that produces a tight closure.

According to a preferred method of sealing, a heated plate .32 (Figs. 6 and 7) with raised diamond-shaped ridges 33 is pressed against each end of the package. The diamonds form separate, tight, diamond-shaped enclosures 34 between the overlapping portions of the doublewalled wrapper at the ends of the package and insure against channeling of the Wrapper at the folds with unobstructed passage of gases through the channels. The longitudinal seam 36 may be made in the usual manner.

Figs. 8 to 10 illustrate somewhat diagrammatically the application of the invention to a type of bag-making and filling equipment Widely used at the present time. The two plies of bag material are passed around a guide roll 59 (Fig. 8) up over 'a mandrel (not shown) and then down around a filling tube 5| (Fig. 9) where the edges 52 and 53 of the plies are brought together by a usual former (not shown) and sealed in the area 54 by a usual sealer (not shown). This makes a continuous double-walled tube, and means is shown in Fig. 10 for sealing the tube at intervals and cutting it in bags of desired length.

Following the operation in detail, two sheets of rubber hydrochloride film 55 and 55 are fed from the stock rolls 51 and 53. Water or other conditioning material is supplied from a tank 59 into the horizontal feeding cylinder 69. The cylinder is supported by brackets 6| from any suitable supporting means. The wick 52, which is substantially as wide as the plies feeds water through a water-tight seal in the bottom of the cylinder 60 on to the ply 56. This ply is thus covered with a thin film of water 63. The two plies are brought together under the roller 59 and are fed up over a suitable mandrel (not shown), and thence down around the filling tube 5! The material to be packaged, whether liquid or granular, etc., is supplied from the hopper 55. The bottom of the hopper may be equipped with a valve-or other suitable means for feeding measured amounts of the material through the feeding tube 5|.

The arms l0 and H reach up and press against opposite sides of the tube. The top and bottom fingers l2 and l3 on each side of the bag are heated to form the heat seals 14 and 15 at the bottom and top, respectively, of each bag as it is formed. Between these fingers is the cut-off 16 which cuts the tube along the line ll. Thus, in a single operation the top seal 15 is formed on one bag, the bottom seal 14 is formed on the bag immediately above it, and the two bags are separated along the line IT. Each time the two arms It and H are brought together, a new bag 89 is formed, and as the bag is formed the arms pull the tube down over the filling tube 5! a bags length and the operation is then repeated. The longitudinal seam 54 and the horizontal seams 14 and I5 unite the two plies of film 55 and 56 right through the film of water, and prevent the escape of water from between the plies.

Fig. 11 illustrates the introduction of air-conditioner manually between the plies of individual bags before sealing. The duplex or doublewalled bag 90 is opened up inside of the container 9|. Water or the like is introduced between the two plies of the bag from the bulb 9-2. But a small amount of water is necessary. The bag may then be filled with the material to be packaged and the top may be sealed. If preferred, the bag may be filled before introduction of the air-conditioner between the plies, but the first method tends to give more uniform distribution of the air-conditioner between the plies.

Figs. 12 and 13 show an alternative type of package in which a bag of transparent material is backed up by heavy paper or the like; The contents of the package is held between the plies I and IOI of rubber hydrochloride film. The ply IOI may be somewhat thinner than the outer ply I00 to facilitate the transmission of moisture to keep the contents of the package moist. The bag is backed up by a ply I02 of rubber hydrochloride film which may be of the same thickness as the ply I00 and which is affixed to heavy paper. Between the plies IOI and I02 is the layer of water or other conditioning material I03. These three plies are united around the edges in the area I by a seal which holds the water between the plies IOI and I02. The heavy outer plies I00 and I02 prevent loss of moisture from the package, and the ply IOI being thinner facilitates the maintenance of equilibrium in the two compartments on opposite sides of it.

Figs. 14 to 16 illustrate how a bag machine of a usual type may be adapted for making the bags of this invention. The mechanism for feeding the water to the wick H0 is no different from that shown in Fig. 8. The bottom or outer ply III of rubber hydrochloride film is taken from the stock roll H2. The top or inner ply H3 is taken from the stock roll II4. These are passed between the rolls H5 and H6, which may be" driven rolls. The rib I H on the roll I I5 is heated. Thus, at every revolution of the roll II5 the two plies of film are sealed at intervals as at II8. This seal extends across the entire width of the two plies of film. The rotation of the roll H5 is coordinated with rotation of the cut-off and sealing roll (described below) so that bags of predetermined length are formed. The seal II8 unites the two plies at the top edge of the fin-:- ished bag and prevents the loss of moisture from tom I22 and pulled forward by the bite rolls I23 (of which only one is shown). These rolls deliver the forward end of the tube between the rollers I25 and I28 (Fig. 16). The roller I25 is provided with heated rib I21 and the cut-01f I28. The roller I26 merely forms a back-up roller. The rotation of roller I25 is coordinated with the rotation of roller H8. As the two plies pass between the two rollers I25 and I26 the completed bag 139 is severed from the tube by the cut-off I28 and the heated rib I2'I forms the bottom seal I3I of the bag.

In the finished bag illustrated in Fig. 18 the bottom seam is formed by the heated rib I2'I. The top seal I18 which unites the two plies of film, but not the two walls of the bag, is formed between the plies until the two sides of the bag are sealed together after filling. After leaving the rolls H5, H6 the double ply of film is folded over the horizontal mandrel I20 by any usual means. The opposite edges of the two films are overlapped and united by the parallel heat-seals I2I. The seals I2I unite the edges of the individual plies right through the film of water which separates them, and this seals the water in between the plies.

The mandrel I20 is a flat mandrel. The fiat tube formed on this mandrel is drawn off its botby the heated rib I" (Fig. 14). The longitudinal seams I2I are made by continuous sealers of the usual type (not shown). The bag is open. The seam I I8 prevents the loss of air-conditioner throughout the life of the open bag. If adhesive is used for the final closure, after filling, the seam I I8 will continue to perform this function. If the final closure is formed by a heat seal, this will ordinarily unite the two plies of the walls of the bag as well as uniting the'two walls, and the seam I I8 will lose its importance.

The drawings are illustrative. The invention is applicable to a variety of different kindsof packages, using different bag materials, made in difierent ways; and difierent air-conditioners may be used as required.

What I claim is:

1. A package enclosed in wrapping material the edges of which are heat-sealed to one another to form a tight enclosure, the wrapping material being formed of two pliesof heat-seala'ble film having the same contour which films are sealed together adjacent all their edges and separated throughout the rest of their area by an airconditioner.

2. The package of claim 1 in which the airconditioner is water.

3. The method of forming a package which comprises laminating two films of heat-scalable material with a film of water between them and coextensive. with each, sealing all the edges or" the two films of heat-scalable material together by heat and pressure, which pressure pushes the water away and presses the films into contact, and then enclosing in this film the material to be packaged and uniting the edges of the film by heat and pressure to form a tight enclosure.

JAMES E. SNYDER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,871,419 McKee Aug. 9, 1932 2,329,908,, h Johnson Sept. 21, 1943 2,368,140 Johnson Jan. 30, 1945 2,422,725 Gilfillian June 24, 1947 2,442,936 Rohdin June 8, 1948 

